New research commissioned by ‘buy now, pay later’ platform, Laybuy has revealed Australia’s eccentric Christmas habits which include the good, the bad and the just plain odd.

Completed by over 1500 Aussies, the survey found that over 40% of Australians agreed that the worst thing about Christmas is putting on weight over the festive period, as we fill up on chocolate, booze and overindulge in our favourite Christmas food. And 45% of women confirmed this, compared to 36% of men.

The survey also found that the second most disliked thing about Christmas was the dreaded Christmas traffic with 29% agreeing. Chris Rea, it seems, no longer rings true in the rush to get home to family and friends.

Interestingly, when it comes to what’s on the box, Queenslanders disliked Christmas TV more than any other state with 22% saying it was the worst thing about Christmas, compared with 15% in NSW/ACT and 16% in VIC.

With Australian Christmas shopping habits, it seems the crowds in the week before Christmas may be incorrect. Many of us don’t leave Christmas shopping to the last minute with 20% of Australians starting their all the way back before September, and only 4% of Australians getting it done in the week before Christmas.

When shopping online, the most popular place to do this is in bed (of all places) with 42% of Aussies agreeing. Bizarrely, 12% of Australians do their online shopping while sitting on the toilet. In fact, the most popular states where people do online shopping on the toilet was Tasmania with 22% and NT with a massive 31%.

The research also revealed that your partner is the most important person to buy a Christmas gift for, with 43% of Australians agreeing. This is compared with 18% of Australians who said their Mum was the most important, and 5% who said it was their brother or sister. Unfortunately, Dads lose out with just 3% of Australians believing Dads are the most important person to buy a gift for – a tie the house pet which also got 3%!

Luckily Christmas charity is still alive and well in Australia, after a difficult year for everyone. Even though it’s going to be a frugal Christmas for many with 38% of respondents saying they will be spending less this year due to COVID, charity donations as gifts are very popular with 64% of Australians saying they would be happy with a donation on their behalf as a gift.

Christmas surprises – on the other hand – are out with 66% of Australians admitting they either drop hints or tell their loved ones what to buy them, rather than preferring a surprise.

Four percent of Australians go one step further and actually buy their own presents and wrap them up themselves. Victoria is among the worst offenders of dropping hints or telling their loved ones what to buy with 70% agreeing, over NSW at 62%.

Regifting or reselling presents is still quite common with 39% of Australians admitting they have done this. Victoria at 41% and NSW at 41% re-gift more than QLD at 34%.

And vouchers are officially not a cop-out gift, with 45% of Australians agreeing so, and a massive 86% of Australians saying, yes, they would be happy with a voucher as a gift.

Launched in 2017, Laybuy is a rapidly growing fintech company providing buy now, pay later services partnering with over 7,500 retail merchants. Laybuy is available in New Zealand, the UK and Australia. The unique, fully integrated payment platform is helping to revolutionise the way consumers spend. Laybuy is simple. Customers can shop now, receive their purchase straight away, and pay it off over six weekly payments without paying interest. Learn more.